Taking songs from ipod classic and putting them on new computer without deleting plays and ratings?

Question

Hi Guys
I need help. My computer died and I now have a new one with my old iTunes on a external hard drive (EHDD) and on my Ipod Classic.
When I copied all the music from my EHDD to the new computer it has put all the music on there but without any ratings or play count.
Is there a way I can use the info on my ipod classic to update the play count and ratings?
Also I'm scared to sync my ipod to the new iTunes because I don't want to loose these plays and ratings.
What should I do?

Answer 1

Hello Calumk4,
After reviewing your post, I have located an article that can help in this situation. It contains a number of troubleshooting steps and helpful advice concerning transferring iTunes libraries:
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
Consolidating Your iTunes library
To make the move as easy as possible, it's important to make sure all of the items in your library are in one place.
Open iTunes Preferences:
Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences.
Click Advanced.
Make sure the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" is selected.
Click OK.
Note: With this option selected, when you add files to iTunes, iTunes places copies of the originals in the iTunes Media folder. The original files are left in their original locations. To save space on your hard disk, you might want to delete the original files after confirming import.
Choose File > Library > Organize Library.
Select the option to "Consolidate files."
Note: If you recently updated to iTunes 9, you might want to consider selecting the option to "Upgrade to iTunes Media organization." This updates the file organization of your iTunes Media folder.
Click OK.
Note: If you originally did not have the option to copy files enabled, iTunes will copy files outside of the iTunes Media folder from their original locations to the iTunes Media folder. To save space on your hard disk, you might want to delete the original files after confirming they have been moved and are backed up.
Copy iTunes folder to your external hard drive
To copy all the items in your iTunes library (including the iTunes Library file that holds all your playlists, playcounts, ratings, and other data) to your external hard drive, follow these steps:
Quit iTunes.
Locate your external hard drive.
Mac: On the desktop or Finder sidebar.
Windows: In My Computer
Locate your iTunes folder:
By default, the iTunes folder is located in:
Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Windows Vista: \Users\username\My Music\
Windows 7 or 8: \Users\username\Music\
If the iTunes folder is not in the default location listed above then you can find where the iTunes folder is located by following these instructions:
Open your iTunes Preferences:
Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences.
Click Advanced.
The location of your iTunes folder will be listed in iTunes Media folder location box, as pictured below.
Drag the iTunes folder to your external hard drive. This can take a while if you have a lot of items.
When the transfer is complete, your iTunes Library will have been successfully copied to your external hard drive.
Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
BobbyD